The Super440 has been introduced this year as part of the radical format shift that, for the first time ever, includes a Finals series.
Super440 effectively replaces the old Super400/SuperSprint formats and, after debuting in New Zealand, will feature at Symmons Plains, Wanneroo Raceway, Hidden Valley and Queensland Raceway.
Unlike the 2024 sprint format, which was one timed raced on Saturday and Sunday, Super440 is a return of three races across the weekend.
On Saturday there are two 120-kilometre races with no refuelling, but with a different tyre format in use each time from the soft and super soft Dunlop options.
On Sunday there is then a single 200-kilometre race that features refuelling.
Following its debut across the ditch, the format drew a mixed reaction from the three drivers who appeared on Supercars’ Drivers Only podcast.
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For Brad Jones Racing driver Jaxon Evans, the schedule is a “a bit weird”.
“It’s busy. It’s very busy,” he said.
“I thought it was too busy, at least on the Saturday, with your four qualifying sessions, and then your two races.
“It just felt… maybe not busy, but it felt odd, finishing a race and then 50 minutes later, we’re rolling out for another race. I thought that was a bit weird.”
Brodie Kostecki countered that the busy nature of the schedule was a positive for fans.
“I personally loved it,” he said. “I grew up around speedway. You go to the track, you show up at four or five o’clock, you sit in the grandstands and you’re there with your family and there’s five hours of just straight racing of top categories.
“That’s something that I just like really love about speedway. And [in Taupo], I feel like the fans really got their bang for buck, I guess, showing up to the track and we’re always on the track and I think that’s what we should be doing.
“It was pretty tight for teams. We have promotional schedules as well and I think everyone was having a meltdown about how they’re going to fit everything in.
“It was pretty busy, but I think, looking at it from a fan’s point of view, it was really cool to see us out on the track all the time, which is what it should be, in my opinion.”
Feeney agreed the format is a winner for the smaller events, although did question whether the back-to-back qualifying sessions on a Saturday – effectively four sessions on the trot – was the the right way to go.
“t doesn’t really make sense to go to like Tasmania and do one 38-lap, or whatever the number is, race,” he said.
“What’s the sort of point of that?
“I think there’s tracks where you need to do [Super440]. I think it’s cool.
“But we used to just do one, if I remember right, qualifying for each session. But the four, it’s like over an hour you’re sitting in the car for qualifying.
“And then you get out, and then you’ve got 30 minutes and you go again.
“I think it’s cool. It probably wasn’t the best for us [in New Zealand] because we didn’t roll out super strong, but it’s exciting. I think it’s going to mix it up as well.”
That’s what the drivers have to say, but what about the fans? What was your first read on this new format?
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